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Our History

Royal Brunei Airlines, the country’s flagship carrier, was established on 18 November 1974 as an independent corporation wholly owned by the government of Brunei Darussalam.

Growth Through the Decades

Soon after the beginning of the millennium, Royal Brunei Airline's Board and Management unveiled a bold and aggressive strategy to develop the airline's status as a world-class player. The plan was to make the organisation well-structured and dynamic.

At the same time, the airline would invest in a fleet renewal programme that would include both the acquisition of new aircrafts and the upgrading of its current equipment with the latest state-of-the-art technology. The core objective was to raise the levels of comfort and safety, two factors that are paramount to guests.

The delivery of two new Airbus A319 aircrafts in August and September 2003 marked the beginning of Royal Brunei's fleet renewal programme. Two more Airbus A320s were delivered in December 2003 and January 2004. In 2010, Royal Brunei Airlines leased six Boeing 777-200ER aircraft. In October 2013, Royal Brunei Airlines was the first Southeast Asian carrier to take delivery of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. In September 2018, Royal Brunei Airlines unveiled their newest addition to the fleet - Airbus A320 NEO.

2018

December 2018:

3 December: RB launches direct flight to the city of Taipei

28 December: RB reconnects with Kuching, Malaysia

November 2018:

15 November: RB and Sarawak Tourism Board signs Memorandum of Agreement to collaborate and stimulate the inflow of visitors between Brunei and Kuching and vice versa

18 November: RB‘s 44th Anniversary of establishment

22 November: RB launches scheduled services to Haikou, China

October 2018:

9 October: RB has been honored with a 4-star official airline ratings from APEX

28 October: RB launched first nonstop flight to London and Brunei, marking the first time in history the two nations are connected by a direct air link

30 October: RB announce Kuching to be one of its latest destination

31 October: RB updated its website with new layout

September 2018:

22 September: RB celebrates the official launch of A320neo and revealed a special Brunei Tourism livery A320neo aircraft collaborated with Brunei Tourism on Destination Marketing Campaign

23 September: RB announced that it will fly direct to Tokyo on a three times weekly starting 15 March 2019

6 February: RB announced that LEAP-1A engines by CFM International’s will power RB’s A320neos

January 2018:

2nd January: Launch of scheduled services to Nanning, China

RB completed the upgrade of RB Plaza, Bandar Seri Begawan with a refresh design that incorporates traditional heritage element into the building exterior

RB moved to the newly revamped Simpur Building at RB Campus as its new corporate Head Office

2017

December 2017:

6 December: A Refreshed and upgraded Sky lounge was launched and the introduction of the new Business Class Lounge

21 December: RB inks codeshare agreement with Myanmar Airways International to provide a better holiday options for both guests

November 2017

18 November: RB‘s 43rd Anniversary of establishment

26 November – Launch of scheduled services to Seoul, South Korea

October 2017

The nation celebrated His Majesty 50 year’s accession to the throne. RB made a special aircraft livery on its A320 CEO to commemorate this occasion and more than 200 staff was involved in the procession.

5 July: RB expands its flight network to the city of Zhengzhou, East-Central China

12 July: RB signed codeshare with China Eastern Airlines

June 2016:

17 June: Royal Skies introduces Awards Shopper

20 June: RB introduces App-iness as a new in-flight option for passengers on its Airbus A320 CEO aircraft

May 2016:

15 May: RB celebrates 41st Anniversary of Flight

April 2016

1 April: RB rebranded its fare types and introduced betterfly fares

5 April: RB Miri Sarawak Office rebranded office and uniform

March 2016:

17 March: Mr Karam Chand was appointed to be the Chief Executive Officer for Royal Brunei Airlines after Mr Dermot Mannion ended his 5 year term in the executive office

February 2016

19 February: RB and Turkish Airlines sign codeshare agreement

23 February: Royal Brunei Airlines made headlines internationally with our first female pilot trio in the flight deck flying from Bandar Seri Begawan to Jeddah. The flight was led by Captain Czarena along with SFOs Sariana and Dk Nadiah

2010s

November 2015

9 November: RB was declared winner of the Travel Media Innovative Campaign and Content of the Year Award at the inaugural Travel Media Awards held at the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, London

June 2015

15 June: RB announced major enhancements to the airline’s online booking experience, being the first airline in Asia Pacific to implement the new version of Amadeus e-Retail platform

15 May: RB celebrates a significant milestone this month with the 40th anniversary of the airline’s first commercial flight

19 May: RB has launched its newly refurbished and rebranded office in Dubai at Centurian Star

22 May: RB celebrates the 40th anniversary of the airline’s first commercial flight to Hong Kong

August 2014

8 August: Bruneian born international star, Wu Chun, named as RB’s first International Brand Ambassador

May 2014

05 May: RB signed with Airbus and Pratt and Whitney for seven Airbus A320neo aircraft (together with three options) powered by Pratt & Whitney PW1127G-JM engines. Delivery of the new two class premium layout A320 fleet will begin in 2018.

April 2014

03 April: Launch of RB’s first Dreamliner flight from Melbourne making RB the first airline in the world to offer a seamless Dreamliner long-haul flight from Melbourne to London via Brunei and Dubai.

12 October: Launching of a Betterfly; RB’s B787 Dreamliner. The first airline in Southeast Asia to operate the B787 Dreamliner

18 October: First Commercial flight of RB’s 787 – to Singapore

19 October: First B787 aircraft to land • in Kuala Lumpur International Airport, KLIA, Malaysia (also RB’s first commercial flight to Kuala Lumpur on the Dreamliner) flying from Bandar Seri Begawan to Jeddah on Brunei National Day

23 October: First B787 aircraft to land in Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Manila, Philippines (also RB’s first commercial flight to Manila using the Dreamliner)

July 2013:

RB launches iPad mini business class service – the first airline in the world to introduce iPad mini as inflight entertainment enhancement. The service is available for Business Class passengers flying on RB’s Bangkok, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai and Singapore routes

May 2013:

RB launches Double Daily flights to Kuala Lumpur

January 2013:

RB’s website starts its revamp with a new address: www.flyroyalbrunei.com (previously bruneiair.com)